Unless
by aumontalc
Summary: It's the day of April's wedding to Matthew and Jackson stops by.


Jackson looked at the clock on his night stand. 1:00 glowed in the dark. Jackson closed his eyes and willed himself to go back to sleep. Yet, the fact that today was April's wedding day kept him awake. His stomach hurt thinking about her getting married to Matt, about being another man's wife, sleeping in another man's bed, and having another man's children. He hated himself for his jealousy. Hell, he'd even tried to convince himself that he wasn't jealous, that things with Stephanie were going great. Yet, at the eleventh hour, it all came crashing down. His feelings for April could no longer be denied. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't shake the feeling that today was going to be the worst day of his life. It was the day that he was going to lose the woman that he loved forever.

He glanced at Stephanie and felt an overwhelming rush of guilt wash over him. They had dated for almost a year and yet his feelings for her were little more than when they had first started dating. She was his distraction from his true feelings, the feelings he wanted to avoid at all costs, and she deserved better than to be saddled with a guy who was still in love with the woman who had broke his heart over a year ago.

* * *

April stood alone, staring at her reflection in the mirror. I look quite pretty she thought to herself. She tried her best to convince herself that she was happy, that this day was everything that she had been waiting for. Yet, she couldn't shake the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that she was about to do something wrong, something horribly and life changingly wrong.

She heard a light tap on the door and the twist of the knob. As she turned, she called, "I just need a few moments to my...Jackson!"

Jackson quietly stepped into the room and closed the door. April couldn't help but notice how dashing he looked in his suit and tie. Flashes of another suit and another tie slipped into her consciousness. Mentally, she shook them away. This was neither the time nor the place to go down memory lane.

"You came," she said, putting on her best smile. She'd never felt completely sure about whether or not she wanted him to attend her wedding. On one hand, he was her best friend and had seen her through most of the significant events of her adulthood. On the other hand, she still had lingering feelings for him and she didn't know if she could bear getting married to one man while the man she still wanted sat in the audience. The whole thing was very perplexing and she was starting to freak out.

"I did," Jackson replied. "You look beautiful by the way."

April blushed. "Th...Thank you," she stuttered, wishing that in another time, another place Jackson could have seen her in a different dress. What she was wearing wasn't quite the dress that she had envisioned for her wedding with Jackson. She had wanted a spring wedding in a field with butterflies . A winter wedding wasn't so bad and she did like her dress, but the long sleeves and cape were a far cry from the strapless ball gown she had dreamt of ever since she was a little girl.

April's heart began to race as Jackson took steps towards her. His eyes were glued to a piece of paper in his hands. April wasn't sure if she was imagining it or not, but she could have sworn they were trembling a little. Jackson slowly opened the piece of paper.

"You're my best friend. You're the first one I want to tell when I have good news. We have amazing sex together that we will never be able to have with anyone else. I can't stop thinking about you no matter how hard I try. You drive me crazy, but no one else makes me as happy as you do. You..."

"Jackson," April gasped. "What...what are you doing?"

"Giving you reasons. Let me finish. Where was I?" he said, looking down at his paper. "Yes. You belong with me. I want you."

"Jackson, I'm getting married," April protested.

Jackson continued to speak as if he hadn't heard her. "I love you and I know you love me too. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Like a broken record, April repeated, "But I'm getting married."

"Unless one of my reasons is good enough for you not to."


End file.
